Joanna: What Lies behind the Eyes

Joanna’s Portfolio

                                      Artist Statement: Joanna Koulias

The photographs I chose for my portfolio consist of seeing emotion and expression in the eyes of people. Landscape photography + portraiture are very beautiful however, looking into an individual’s eyes can give a different perspective and meaning to their story. In many cultures there’s a saying that an individual’s eyes are the window to their soul, and to many I think that speaks volumes.

In the beginning of this class I never really had an interest in photography or never looked at photos and the stories behind them. There are so many different styles of photography such as street photography, landscape, portraiture, and architectural photography etc. Portraiture spoke the most to me because it made me look at specific details that individuals carry revealing their story’s that I felt I could relate to when captured in a photograph.

Portraiture photography can be of just a person or a group of people which captures the subject or personality of the individuals using specific lighting and poses. For my portfolio I gathered my friends and family because I wanted to capture what lies behind the eyes. In our current society, people tend to not look up, let alone making eye contact.

I hope that the expressions I captured through their eyes in turn inspire others to notice the details of what makes us all unique.